Configuring Pro Tools Le - DigiDesign Mbox Getting Started Manual

Enter the authorization code in the dialog
2
when prompted (making sure to type it exactly
as printed, and observing any spaces and capi-
talization) then click Validate.
Configuring Pro Tools LE
Pro Tools System Settings
Pro Tools LE allows you to adjust the perfor-
mance of your system by changing system set-
tings that affect its capacity for processing, play-
back, and recording
In most cases, the default settings for your sys-
tem provide optimum performance, but you
may want to adjust them to accommodate large
or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.
Hardware Buffer Size
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) con-
trols the size of the hardware cache used to han-
dle host processing tasks such as Real-Time Au-
dioSuite (RTAS) plug-ins.
Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce
monitoring latency, and are useful when you are
recording live input.
Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings allow for
more audio processing and effects, and are use-
ful when you are mixing and using more RTAS
plug-ins.
In addition to causing slower screen re-
sponse and monitoring latency, higher
Hardware Buffer Size settings can affect the
accuracy of plug-in automation, mute data,
and timing for MIDI tracks.
14 Getting Started with Mbox
To change the Hardware Buffer Size:
Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
1
Playback Engine dialog for Mbox
From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select
2
the audio buffer size, in samples.
Click OK.
3
CPU Usage Limit
The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host pro-
cessing tasks.
Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the ef-
fect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-inten-
sive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful
when you are experiencing slow system re-
sponse, or when running other applications at
the same time as Pro Tools.
Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate
more processing power to Pro Tools, and are
useful for playing back large sessions or using
more real-time plug-ins.
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen responses on slower computers.
With Pro Tools 6.x, the maximum CPU Usage
Limit is 85 percent for single-processor comput-
ers, and 99 percent for multi-processor comput-
ers. (The 99 percent setting dedicates one entire
processor to Pro Tools.)